imperialism

[im-peer-ee-uh-liz-uhm]

noun

1. the policy of extending the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies.

2. advocacy of imperial or sovereign interests over the interests of the dependent states.

3. imperial government; rule by an emperor or empress.

4. an imperial system of government.

5. British.,  the policy of so uniting the separate parts of an empire with separate governments as to secure for certain purposes a single state.

imperialism

/ ɪmˈpɪərɪəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the policy or practice of extending a state's rule over other territories

2. an instance or policy of aggressive behaviour by one state against another

3. the extension or attempted extension of authority, influence, power, etc, by any person, country, institution, etc

   cultural imperialism

4. a system of imperial government or rule by an emperor

5. the spirit, character, authority, etc, of an empire

6. advocacy of or support for any form of imperialism

imperialism

1. Acquisition by a government of other governments or territories, or of economic or cultural power over other nations or territories, often by force. Colonialism is a form of imperialism.

Other Word Forms

• imperialist adjective
• imperialistic adjective
• imperialistically adverb
• nonimperialistic adjective
• nonimperialistically adverb
• unimperialistic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of imperialism¹

First recorded in 1855–60; imperial ¹ + -ism

Example Sentences

Some on the left, too, have identified multipolarism as a sign of a more equitable geopolitics — and a potential cudgel against American imperialism.

Read more on Salon

Some of her works listed on Instagram criticise "American imperialism," what she called Israeli war crimes and denounce the "ethnic cleansing" of Palestinians, mirroring some of her husband's policy positions.

Read more on BBC

Without them, he wouldn’t have the bogeyman he requires to push forward the most authoritarian aspects of his agenda: mass surveillance, squads of secret police and wars of imperialism.

Read more on Salon

They add to the case for imposing secondary sanctions on Chinese businesses that aid Russia’s imperialism.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The only person who can turn down the proverbial temperature on this issue is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who should know all the bad that American imperialism has wrought on Latin America.

Read more on Los Angeles Times